Bolaji, now we have severe floods in Philippines. Will this also impact the supply chain ? Do we have major semiconductor manufacturers operating from Philippines ?
I can't imagine that phone call: "hey Bob, just wanted to let you know that... well, you remember the 15.2 billion forecast?... well, yeah... it's not gonna happen... might be 1 billion less... hello? hello?"
The "good" part is that demand wasn't satisfied by another supplier, they are waiting for them to catch up, so if Thailand gets up and running, forecast for next year might be even greater.
Thanks cmonk and Bolaji. There's a review in the WSJ on ultrabooks vs. MacAir. Each has its pros and cons as one would expect. From what I read, though, solid-state isn't living up to expectations...although those expectations were set based on the performance of hard drives. At any rate, they are all pricey compared with our "old" laptops. I plan to get to an electronics store this weekend and test drive some of these things (and finally do some holiday shopping)
Correct. Apple is ahead in selling Ultrabooks and Intel is eager to follow. The Ultrabook's main selling point is the abscence of the hard disk drive, which would help reduce both cost, weight and size.
The question in my mind is whether the market hype around the Ultrabook isn't a problem. What are the chances of the Ultrabook succeeding and could it end up in the same position as netbooks, which have faded in terms of demand? I wonder at times if the market isn't searching so hard for an alternative to tablets it is ready to embrace any alternatives.
One of the key aspects of Ultrabooks is to replace hard drives with solid state memory ( flash RAM ) so that the end product looks more like a Mac Air. The advantages : "instant" boot - up when power is turned on, longer battery life and a thinner profile. Ultrabooks are not ready for this XMas but will be around by mid '12 and would cost north of $ 1k.
This is my ignorance speaking: how will Intel benefit from the HDD shortage? Don't ultrabooks use HDDs? Is Intel planning on replacing drives in some of these products with chips?
"Intel will take the opportunity of the hard disk drives shortage to push for a bigger role in the market for ultra-thin notebooks and compensate for its weak position in the tablet PC segment"
@Bolaji, this is very good move by Intel considering that fact that number of PC users is reducing slowly. More and more people are now opting for thin notebooks and tablets. What about other companies who are just selling HDD's, how are they planning to cope with this shortage ?
“It was not the first time that weather or other natural disaster-related events had clipped the industry's wings, and it won't be the last”
Its right because natural calamities can be happens at any time. In 2011 itself 2-3 major natural calamities happens like Hurican in US, tsunami in Japan, flood in Thai etc. previous years also similar calamities happened in different parts of the globe including Korea and European countries. Therefore, I think the only way is we have to foreseen such disasters in advance and has to take necessary precaution methods, in order not to have a drastic effect in supply chain and availability of the resources.
EBN Dialogue enables and encourages you to participate in live chats with notable leaders and luminaries. Not only editors and journalists, but the entire EBN community is able to comment and ask questions. Listed below are upcoming and archived chats.
Archived Dialogues
Thailand Stages a Comeback Join EBN contributor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday August 23, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. EST for a live chat on how electronic manufacturers in Thailand have shored up their supply chain to reduce the impact of future natural disasters.
Euro-Crisis: What It Means for High-Tech Firms Join EBN Editor in Chief Bolaji Ojo and Contributing Editor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday, July 12, at 10:00 a.m. EDT for a Live Chat on high-tech and Europe's economic difficulties.
Microsoft Surface: Potential Winners & Losers What are the implications for the electronics industry supply chain of Microsoft Corp.'s decision to launch its own tablet PC? Join industry veteran and EE Times' systems and OEM expert Rick Merritt on Tuesday, July 3, at 12:00 pm EDT for a Live Chat on this subject.
Join EBN contributor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday August 23, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. EST for a live chat on how electronic manufacturers in Thailand have shored up their supply chain to reduce the impact of future natural disasters.
Peter Drucker famously said "Trying to predict the future is like trying to drive down a country road at night with no lights while looking out the back window." Yet in the razor's-edge world of electronics—with a lean supply chain and just-in-time demands—the need to know the future is vital.
While no one really can accurately predict the future, we can take guidance from another Drucker saying which is the best way to predict the future is to create it.
You've heard the saying "the No. 1 supply chain risk is your people." That hasn't always been the case. But today's complex global supply chain requires a new type of multitalented employee. It's one who understands, finance, marketing, economics, is savvy with technology, graceful with relationships and can think analytically.
Where are these people? Are universities properly preparing the next generation supply chain professionals? How do train your existing workforce for these new, demanding positions?
Brian Fuller, editor-in-chief of EBN, will lead a 60-minute Avnet Velocity panel discussion that will ask and answer these and other questions swirling around today's supply-chain talent challenges.
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